Prince Naseem Hamed had real power in his punch. Don’t mind the somersaults over the ropes to announce his ring arrivals. It was the power. And coupled with speed and innate talent, he was one of the finest boxers that England has ever produced. Under the tutelage of Brendan Ingle, Hamed won all but one of his 36 bouts. 31 of them by knockout. One of the finest of those victories came on this day in 1997.
It was Hamed’s U.S debut. Madison Square Garden, New York and Kevin Kelley awaited. If Hamed was all-action, he was about to step into the ring with a kindred spirit in Kelley. Kelley fought on the front-foot and his final career record of 60-10-2 might seem like its littered with its fair share of defeats for an elite boxer, but the caveat is, he won 39 of his 60 victories by knock-out.
Kelley – a southpaw – had a phenomenal work rate. His willingness to fight in close, made for entertaining viewing. Five years before his meting with Hamed, he fought Troy Dorsey for the WBC Continental Americas Featherweight title. According to Kelley, the two men exchanged just over 2,800 punches.
Meanwhile, Hamed was dominating the public consciousness in the UK. Hamed was defending his WBO World Featherweight title against all callers. In the February before his meeting with Kelley, Tom Johnson came to London but could do nothing to cope with Hamed’s power. The victories continued and Hamed was garnering increasing interest Stateside. And in particular from Kelley.
“People don’t know I went to England to challenge him,” Kelley said in an interview with Ring magazine in June. “I was looking for an opponent. I had beaten everybody in America at the time. I was 47-1 and I saw this guy in a magazine and thought, ‘Why isn’t he fighting me?‘
“I got on a plane and flew to England and I challenged him, and Frank Warren said he didn’t need me because he was doing his thing in England and making a great deal of money doing it their way. I can understand that. When I heard he’s coming to America, I challenged him again. With me in America you fight the best.”
He always knew how to make an entrance...
So, on December 17th, the two men came face to face in a fight that caught everyone’s imagination. In Time Square in New York, a colossus of a picture of Hamed was erected on the side of a building. American’s were talking. And Hamed was still talking when the two came face to face before the bell. Both men looked fired up, and the fight didn’t disappoint.
The first round was fought at a ferocious pace. Both men threw jabs with pace. Hamed illustrated some of his showmanship with a body wriggle. Cornering Kelley, he was unprepared for what came next, Kelley pushed forward with momentum and floored Hamed with a fine right hook. He raised his arms, everyone loved it. Hamed, humility setting in, refocused. He knew he was in a serious battle.
In the second round, Kelley had Hamed on the ropes, then twice Hamed struggled to stay upright. Then it was Hamed’s turn, putting Kelley down in the corner, all though it was ruled a slip, it probably was a bit of both. The pace was relentless from both men, and in the last minute of the second round, Kelley was down again.
In the third, the two men continued, all though tiredness was showing signs of taking a hold. How could it not, such was the pace. The crowd were completely invested in a war of a boxing match.
The fourth round saw the trading continue, Hamed connecting with a little more precision then his opponent. Kelley was floored by a left-jab, yet continued, even scoring a technical knock down, all though Hamed wasn’t overtly affected by it. The slugfest continued. Hamed then found a fraction of space to floor Kelley with a hard left. Kelley got to his feet by ten, but he couldn’t continue.
It was a stunning way to end the boxing year. And it was a fight that illuminated the draw of both men.
